Paul begins the third chapter of his second letter to Timothy with this..."But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come..." There is a foreboding sense in the list that he gives of what the "times" will look like in that things will be getting more perilous as time passes. One of those descriptives that Paul gives is..."having a form of godliness but denying its power." There are men literally everywhere today who claim to be very devout, and in a sense that is true, they meditate on and they pray to and they envision God but there is no need for the Word of God in their calculations on what the gospel....."the power of God for salvation".....is. They are God-fearing yet not born again. The following post is a week or so old:
If you are anywhere near my age....and still have your memory....these names are very very familiar.....Charles Colson....John Dean....John Ehrlichman.....H. R. (Bob) Haldeman....Jeb Magruder....G. Gordon Liddy....E. Howard Hunt....and their are many more. It was Watergate. How many 'gates' have we had since then?
Colson was known as President Nixon's 'hatchet man.' He was probably pretty despicable. He served seven years in prison for obstruction of justice. The last thirty years of his life he was one of the most respected men in Washington....maybe grudgingly at times.....but still respected as an honest man. How did this happen in the swamp?
I probably first heard the term 'born again' in 1976. I voted for Jimmy Carter.....read his book 'Why Not The Best'.....shook his hand. I don't think that I even was interested in what this 'born again' stuff was.....not until 1982.....when I was....born again.
Charles Colson was given a copy of Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis.....who died on the very same day of John Kennedy's assassination by the way....and through various means was confronted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.....and his own sins.....and was.....born again.....and wrote a book by that title.....that I read....after I was born again. He served his time.....reentered society and proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ until his death in 2012.
So what is this...born again stuff? Well, it's not...'stuff.' It is God regenerating a soul.....at His discretion alone....that soul then believes what it has heard in the Gospel of Jesus Christ....believes unto salvation....and is born again.....whereas before being regenerated could not believe unto salvation.....it could only assent to what it had heard. This is why one must search and inquire of God and pray and cling to the robe of Christ until one fully understands.....not how....or even why.....but that one has been born again.
I'm watching a Christian singer at the piano on Christian television as I type. I had the channel on for no particular reason.....but the beautiful musical compositions caused me to look up....and into the eyes of the woman singer.....she is blind.....and I am humbled beyond what I can express here.
We have so many theological....doctrinal differences between us....other Christians and myself....and at times we disagree....I don't know about them but I won't let up.....because this is not rocket science......it's words on a page. It has to be worked at but the problem is not in its complexity but in the interference from personal biases. So we'll work at this....until our days are over....or the Lord returns in power and glory....for we share something that can never be undone....we are all born again. We know that we know that we know. We rejoice in the same Savior. We don't just assent....we had our eyes opened....just like this wonderful Christian singer.....whose vision is greater than 90% of this world's people.
So Charles Colson....this singer Ginny Owens....Jim DeMint....Billy Graham....Martin Luther....Alice Cooper (AKA Vincent Furnier).....Eric Liddell....I'm purposely picking an odd assortment of names the oddest of which is Special Dog.....we are all or all of us had been born again....and we all call to you.....come to Jesus....open your Bible....ask of Him.....He turns no one away!
Consider this....it will not fail....if you have not been born again.....and you come to be born again....the first thing you will do.....no.....the third thing....the first thing is that you will praise our Savior with every once of your being....the second things is that you will value your Bible as the world's greatest treasure that it is.....the third thing is that you will go to whom you love.....to anyone really.....and look for some opportunity......like I do in these posts.....to relay to them what Jesus said to Nicodemus...."....you must be born again."
Note: One particular dictionary gives two primary meanings for the verb 'must,' In the first it mentions the word...necessity. Therefore one might say.....'I must be born again to be a Christian" as in there is a necessity to be born again to be a Christian, In the second it mentions the word...likely. Therefore one might say...."I must be born again......for I am a Christian" as in....I am "logically very likely" born again since I am is a Christian. I implore of you not to rely on the second definition.....and to search the Scriptures.
If you are anywhere near my age....and still have your memory....these names are very very familiar.....Charles Colson....John Dean....John Ehrlichman.....H. R. (Bob) Haldeman....Jeb Magruder....G. Gordon Liddy....E. Howard Hunt....and their are many more. It was Watergate. How many 'gates' have we had since then?
Colson was known as President Nixon's 'hatchet man.' He was probably pretty despicable. He served seven years in prison for obstruction of justice. The last thirty years of his life he was one of the most respected men in Washington....maybe grudgingly at times.....but still respected as an honest man. How did this happen in the swamp?
I probably first heard the term 'born again' in 1976. I voted for Jimmy Carter.....read his book 'Why Not The Best'.....shook his hand. I don't think that I even was interested in what this 'born again' stuff was.....not until 1982.....when I was....born again.
Charles Colson was given a copy of Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis.....who died on the very same day of John Kennedy's assassination by the way....and through various means was confronted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.....and his own sins.....and was.....born again.....and wrote a book by that title.....that I read....after I was born again. He served his time.....reentered society and proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ until his death in 2012.
So what is this...born again stuff? Well, it's not...'stuff.' It is God regenerating a soul.....at His discretion alone....that soul then believes what it has heard in the Gospel of Jesus Christ....believes unto salvation....and is born again.....whereas before being regenerated could not believe unto salvation.....it could only assent to what it had heard. This is why one must search and inquire of God and pray and cling to the robe of Christ until one fully understands.....not how....or even why.....but that one has been born again.
I'm watching a Christian singer at the piano on Christian television as I type. I had the channel on for no particular reason.....but the beautiful musical compositions caused me to look up....and into the eyes of the woman singer.....she is blind.....and I am humbled beyond what I can express here.
We have so many theological....doctrinal differences between us....other Christians and myself....and at times we disagree....I don't know about them but I won't let up.....because this is not rocket science......it's words on a page. It has to be worked at but the problem is not in its complexity but in the interference from personal biases. So we'll work at this....until our days are over....or the Lord returns in power and glory....for we share something that can never be undone....we are all born again. We know that we know that we know. We rejoice in the same Savior. We don't just assent....we had our eyes opened....just like this wonderful Christian singer.....whose vision is greater than 90% of this world's people.
So Charles Colson....this singer Ginny Owens....Jim DeMint....Billy Graham....Martin Luther....Alice Cooper (AKA Vincent Furnier).....Eric Liddell....I'm purposely picking an odd assortment of names the oddest of which is Special Dog.....we are all or all of us had been born again....and we all call to you.....come to Jesus....open your Bible....ask of Him.....He turns no one away!
Consider this....it will not fail....if you have not been born again.....and you come to be born again....the first thing you will do.....no.....the third thing....the first thing is that you will praise our Savior with every once of your being....the second things is that you will value your Bible as the world's greatest treasure that it is.....the third thing is that you will go to whom you love.....to anyone really.....and look for some opportunity......like I do in these posts.....to relay to them what Jesus said to Nicodemus...."....you must be born again."
Note: One particular dictionary gives two primary meanings for the verb 'must,' In the first it mentions the word...necessity. Therefore one might say.....'I must be born again to be a Christian" as in there is a necessity to be born again to be a Christian, In the second it mentions the word...likely. Therefore one might say...."I must be born again......for I am a Christian" as in....I am "logically very likely" born again since I am is a Christian. I implore of you not to rely on the second definition.....and to search the Scriptures.
